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My passport is in the hands of an embassy right now, because of a visa application. I paid more to expedite the process but, just in case the passport doesn't make it back to my hands in time, I would like to know if I can go from France to Spain (short stay) without the passport with me.

I have seen this question and I've read the answer but it seems to conflict with the following quote in the EU website:

Going to another EU country during my short-term visit – less than 90 days

If you have entered an EU country with a Schengen visa, you can travel throughout the Schengen area for as long as your visa is valid, and for a maximum of 90 days during an 180 day period. You will not need a separate visa for each Schengen area country and you will not need to show your passport at each internal border.

I have a photocopy of my passport biometrics page, if that helps.

As has been noted in the other question, no you cannot travel in the Schengen Area without a passport. Free movement using ID cards within the Schengen Area is reserved for EU citizens.

This FAQ (Question 17 on the EU website) says what I have seen printed on some french websites before (can't find the links right now): for non-EU citizens, the passport PLUS the residence card is the visa. Neither seems to work alone.

From experience, I have been asked to present my passport to border security after offering them my residence permit (not all the time but enough times to not be an anomaly. I have also seen the same request for a passport being put to some Americans sitting next to me in the bus who had offered just their residence cards).

One issue is that in Spain you are required to carry identification with you at all times, and for non-EU citizens the only identification accepted is a passport (or a certified copy [copia compulsada]). Did the embassy stamp your photocopy to prove that it is a valid copy?

How are you planning to cross the border?

Officially you're required to hold a passport and residence permit in order to visit another Schengen country.

However, while there are internal Schengen borders where spot border checks are carried out, the French-Spanish border is not one of them. Which means that, in practice, you can cross it without a passport.

If travelling by air, you will definitely need your passport to check in luggage, however if only travelling with hand luggage and staying away from Ryanair and easyJet, you will most likely not be asked for any ID at all (although it might happen more often in Spain). Even if you are, a residence permit will usually be enough, as they only need to establish that you're the person on the ticket.

I'm a Non-EU citizen with British Residency Permit(BRP) and valid Schengen visa.

Here are my observations while traveling in Schengen area:

• If you traveling by air, passport/visa will most certainly be checked while departing and arriving at respective airports even if you traveling within Schengen area.


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  If you are traveling by bus/car/ferry, passport/visa will be checked by Border Control at PoE. If you leave Schengen area in between your travel, you will need a multi-entry visa to get in again.

  
  
  

  (While traveling from Dover(UK) to Amsterdam(Netherlands), my passport/visa was checked before getting on the ferry in Dover(UK) to Dunkirk(France). Then I traveled to Belgium and Netherlands by bus with no border control or document checks.)

  
  


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  If you are traveling by train, it can vary from country to country, there may or may not be any passport/visa checks.

  
  
  

  (While traveling from Copenhagen(Denmark) to Malmo(Sweden) by train, I was asked to show my passport/visa or any EU member state residency permit. No stamps were put on the passport in this case. I later found out that this check was introduced to keep inflows of refugees/asylum seekers to Sweden in check as Sweden have taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any other European country.)

  
  

With 26 member countries in Schengen area, the rules vary greatly from place to place, so it is always advisable to carry some kind of document that can prove your citizenship status/nationality. A passport or an EU member state residency permit is an acceptable document.